The rapid growth in computer, the Internet, and telecommunication technology has brought about a change in how product manufacturers sell their goods. While brick and mortar establishments still provide an outlet for goods, running an ecommerce website is relatively inexpensive compared to a brick and mortar establishment and this has led to a large number of online retailers. In order to remain competitive, it can be important for online retailers to monitor competitor's prices and offerings. Manufacturers also have an interest in monitoring the pricing and availability of their products that are sold through online retailers.
Current methods of obtaining pricing comparison data include search engine provided “shopping engines” and price comparison sites, for example. Most of these sites rely on paid-placement programs, a model where merchants pay to have their information listed. The end user therefore, has no way of knowing if data from these engines is complete, timely, or accurate.